16: Shattered Reflection
by Silent Elegy
Summary: With Vlad and Technus out of the way, it's time for Skulker to initiate his plan. Sadly, he didn't count on Danny's ability to duplicate, but is that really what's going? How else could there be two ghost boys?
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Danny Phantom and all related characters (including their Alternate Universe counterparts)are the product of Butch Hartman and Nickelodeon studios. The Guardians of Space, Kat/Electra, the Ghost Master, and all related characters are the product Silent Elegy.

A/N: Wow, number sixteen already. Okay, this one takes place right on the heels of Phasmatis ex Machina, so if you're just joining us, you might want to read that one first. You might also want to skim through What If? since that's the first story that featured AU Danny. And if you like what you see, I highly recommend you drop by my profile for a list of all my fics in numerical order. Actually, I recommend you do that anyway, but I'm a bit biased.

Also, this semester is insane. For the next eight weeks, updates may be a bit sporadic. Just a warning.

* * *

The boy ran a hand through his snow-white hair, then dragged a few strands of it down in front of his eyes. He wondered if other super heroes had to deal with the same kinds of misunderstandings that he did. He wasn't much of a comic book reader, but he seemed to recall that they were generally well liked. Of course, the last comic he read had been an old issue of Captain America… 

He stared down at his hands, too pale for any normal human, and sighed. They had loved him, at first. He was Phantom, the ghost boy who saved Amity Park. Girls wanted him; boys wanted to be him…it had been an incredible feeling, to be idolized. Then the novelty had worn off; people moved to the next best thing. He felt like a fallen star. Oh, he knew he'd simply let the fame go to his head, and he'd tried to move on as well. Then, the ghost attacks began.

Suddenly, every creature in the Ghost Zone, or so it seemed, had found a way into the real world. He suspected it had something to do with the Plasmius Portal in Wisconsin, but that didn't matter. Suddenly, everyone loved him again. And he did his best to protect them. Everything was going fine until Plasmius came back.

So here he was, a fallen hero, sitting in the Ghost Zone, hoping and praying that everyone would come to their senses and let him come home. He was tired, he was getting hungry, and he was lonely. He missed his family and friends. Well, his family, anyway. Jazz and Jack hadn't turned on him like everyone else.

"I want to go home…" he muttered, blinking back tears. He'd been alone for way too long.

After several minutes of feeling sorry for himself, he jumped and looked around. There was no one there, but he could have sworn someone called his name. He shrugged, but before he could go back to self-pity, someone called his name again, and his real one, at that. No one called him Danny anymore, except for his father and sister.

"Is someone there?" he called, drifting off of his perch. A noise to his left drew his attention to a door that had not been there a few minutes previous.

It was a remarkably normal door that might have guarded someone's closet in the real world. Curious, he flew closer; the door opened at his approach to reveal a room lined with mirrors. As he looked around at the reflections, each one depicting the various paths he might have taken, he was reminded of someone he met, and the story that person told. "You're the Guardians of Space," he ventured, awed.

"Yes…" one of them whispered. "We would offer you a chance…"

"If you wish to see your other self again, of course," another continued.

"Of course, I do!" he exclaimed without hesitation. The simple thought of being back among living human beings was almost intoxicating. The sun, the life, the people…

"Then go with our blessing, young one," they said kindly, opening the door behind him. He fled through into the sunlight of his counterpart's real world, laughing in joy and relief. It was a few moments after the door closed again before any of the Guardians spoke.

"He's not here, yet."

"Maybe he didn't notice."

There was a collective scoff before another pointed out, "He may be plotting something."

"Who cares? As long as he's not interfering in our game, let him plot." The other Guardians agreed to the wisdom and went back to their game.


	2. Chapter One

The black and white spirit hovered with two fingers on the bridge of his nose to ward off a headache, reflecting on the _déjà vu_ of the situation. "Why are you still here?" he demanded wearily. He was unable to summon much in the way of anger thanks to the way Technus had recently abused his poor brain.

The armored fiend that hovered a few feet away smirked maliciously in response. "I have my own plans for you, whelp." He raised his arm and activated the wrist cannon, unsurprised when Danny suddenly dodged out of the way as though nothing was wrong with him. Skulker had long suspected that the boy only pretended to be borderline incompetent.

"Oh, that's right," Danny remarked as though he had just remembered. "You want me for a wall mount."

"Actually, my bear-skin rug recently escaped, and I'm in need of a new one."

The boy paused to let that mental image register. "Dude, that's sick." Then the sparring resumed, coloring the walls of the gym with black and grey from missed attacks.

The screaming had, thankfully, stopped several minutes previous, and the school was in the process of being evacuated. Three teachers (one of whom was Mr. Lancer), and a handful of students were all that was left, having been trapped on the wrong side of the room. Danny tried to draw Skulker's attacks away and was simply grateful that the presence of people kept Valerie from interfering. He pretended not to notice her sour expression as all attempts to sneak away were met by Lancer's restraining hand.

His lately-traitorous mind wandered off again to wonder if Lancer knew about Valerie. It was scary to think about since it meant that he might also know about Danny. Still, he supposed it was possible the girl's father had requested that an eye be kept on his daughter. There was any number of little lies he could have told, such as…

Darn those nanobots. The ghost boy dragged his attention back to the fight at hand, which was a fight in and of itself. Oddly, and he almost hoped it was just his imagination, Skulker seemed to be going rather easy on him. Maybe the fight only seemed that way since his improved intellect had not yet faded. He dragged his attention back once again just in time to be caught in a net.

"You're slipping, ghost child."

Danny broke free and resisted a pained wince as his head complained. "Come back when I'm feeling better and try that again."

Skulker chuckled appreciatively. He knew from experience his prey wasn't that easy to catch. He noticed the boy sneak a glance toward the trapped humans, doubtless concerned for their well-being. That was an attitude the armored hunter didn't understand, and he cursed internally. The hunt wasn't as fun when his prey worried about other people.

The prey, for his part, simply wasn't in the mood. He feinted toward the right then dodged to the left, knowing full well that Skulker wouldn't expect such a move from him. He smiled slightly as his attack knocked out one the ghost's jet wings and forced him to retreat. Normally, he would follow, but his vision had decided to swim around in front of his eyes. Instead, he glanced back at the small audience. "Are you guys okay?"

"What do you care?" Valerie demanded, angry enough to be heedless of the other spectators.

Danny sighed and became invisible to look for his friends. He tried not to blame her for her attitude; after all, she was under the mistaken impression that he had attacked Danny Fenton in the power plant the day before. Thinking in third person gave him more of a headache than usual, so he shoved it away to consider later.

* * *

Sam and Tucker had just started to wonder what was taking Danny so long with Skulker when they saw him. Apparently he had gone home to change clothes and was currently staring at the television in a store window as though it were the Holy Grail. He jumped when they called, apparently on edge enough to let his eyes flash green. 

"Are you okay, man?" Tucker laughed.

He stared at them for a moment as though he had never seen them before, then a spark of recognition crossed his face. "Sam and Tucker," he stated almost hesitantly.

They exchanged a worried glance, and Sam found herself wondering if his recent battle with Technus' nanobots had suddenly manifested as amnesia. "Yeah," she replied slowly. He obviously remembered them; perhaps it was simply harder to think than usual. He had been complaining about that. She decided to smile encouragingly and gesture at his all black ensemble. "Thinking of becoming goth?"

The boy laughed and rubbed the back of his neck, almost seeming to blush. "Uh…sure, that'll work." He dredged up everything he remembered his counterpart talking about; surely Danny wouldn't mind if he "borrowed" his friend for a little while. "Um, so…are you going somewhere?"

Again with that worried exchange of glances. "Uh, yeah, dude," Tucker replied uncertainly. "We're going to the mall."

"Can I come?"

"You were supposed to."

The boy grinned awkwardly. "I knew that." Still blushing, he fell in next to them. After a few moments, Tucker began talking about some game that was soon to be released while Sam glanced at the other boy. She had a nagging feeling that all was not right, but she couldn't figure out what, exactly, was wrong. Considering his recent ordeal, he was expected to behave strangely.

He stared around as though the world was a strange, new place despite, or because of, its familiarity. Periodically, he sneaked a glance at Sam. In his universe, she wouldn't have given him the time of day. In fact, on the few instances they had met since he began wearing black, she accused him of being a poser. That had really bothered him, too; it wasn't true at all. He wasn't trying to be goth. He wore all black in his human form because he wore all white as a ghost. It just made sense.

"Danny!" Tucker exclaimed loudly. The boy cringed; he was too used to people calling him Shade.

"Sorry, I wasn't listening," he confessed sheepishly.

"We noticed. Are you sure you're okay?"

When he paused as though frantically searching for an excuse, Sam dragged him into a nearby alley and stood him against the wall, her hands on his shoulders. Whether it was a gesture of comfort of restraint, even she wasn't sure. "You do remember us, don't you?" she asked suspiciously.

Shade gave a nervous laugh in a failed attempt to stall. "Of course, I do. Why wouldn't I?" He mentally berated himself for being unable to act more casual. He knew he didn't have his double's suave confidence, but it hadn't mattered in his own world. He hadn't realized just how much trouble being in this alternate universe would cause.

Suddenly, his ghost sense went off. He had just enough time to wonder whether they were supposed to know when a voice that sounded remarkably like his own yelled, "Sam! Tucker! Get back!" The two were gone as though by magic, and blast of green energy exploded at his feet. Alarmed, he fell backwards through the wall and unwittingly continued through into the basement.

"Darn it," he muttered, pulling himself to his feet. He really should have seen that coming. He would have been automatically suspicious of anyone who looked like him, after all.

"Who are you?" Danny demanded, suddenly appearing before him.

Shade shouted and held up his arms. "It's me!" he exclaimed, switching to ghost mode. There a moment of purest hatred in the original ghost boy's eyes; it vanished in a burst of recognition, followed by exasperation and confused joy.

"Ah, geez," he breathed, relaxing considerably. He shook his head and chuckled. "How did you get here?"

Shade relaxed as well, though the brief expression confused and worried him. "It's kind of a long story. You looked like you thought I was someone else for a second…"

"Yeah, the white threw me off." Danny sighed as a haunted look crossed his features. "Have you ever been to a place called Carnate Island?" At his double's headshake, he added, "Don't. Ever."

"Danny!" a pair of voices interrupted them. Sam and Tucker slid to a stop a few feet away, both talking at once in their demands to know what happened and was everything okay.

"Guys, it's okay," Danny laughed, finally in a good mood again. He gestured to his counterpart. "This is that me from the other dimension I was telling you about."

"Shade," the boy supplied, earning a few raised eyebrows. He shrugged. "A friend of mine decided Ivory Shadow would be a better name than Danny Phantom. The 'Ivory' part was stupid, but 'White Shadow' kind of caught on. Everyone just calls me Shade for short."

"So everyone knows about you?" Receiving affirmation, Tucker curiously continued, "How's that working out?"

"Pretty well, actually, for a while until…until Plasmius came back…" He trailed off and, in somewhat forced cheerfulness, announced, "But I don't want to talk about that! Can I come to the mall with you?" He was unable to repress a grin at the thought of spending time with people again.

His simple, awkward joy was infectious, and reminded Sam and Tucker of their Danny before the accident. After a brief and mostly staged discussion to tease him, the three friends agreed.

* * *

A nondescript door appeared in a secluded alley across town. It opened to allow egress to a pair of ghosts before vanishing as though it had never been. One, a red-eyed girl in a top hat and suit, regarded their surroundings with an annoyed expression. "Why are we here again?" 

"Because the whelp came here," answered her companion, who bore a remarkable resemblance to Skulker before his last upgrade.

"It's not like he's the only hybrid in existence," she pointed out. "He's not even the first."

"No, but he is the more interesting of the two. Go find a base of operations while we're here; I'm going to do a little hunting."

Electra shook her head with an indulgent laugh as Skulker became invisible and flew away. "Boys and their toys…"

* * *

A/N: Well, hopefully this chapter cleared some things up, but just in case, yes. This is my AU Danny, whose ghost form is all white. 


	3. Chapter Two

The cemetery looked different. It was still intact, the headstones standing proudly or mournfully, depending on one's point of view. One in particular caught Electra's attention; in fact, she had been looking for it. She kneeled before it and placed one hand over the missing date of death, wondering who had chiseled it away.

"Stupid people," she murmured. "Let the dead rest in peace."

"There is no peace in death," said a voice much like her own. She whirled around to face her mirror image, who continued, "I'm feeling generous today, so I'll simply ask that you leave rather than fry you as you so richly deserve."

So she wasn't dead in this world. "I am Electra!" she returned, drawing herself to her full height. "The one and only!"

Kat narrowed her eyes, glaring suspiciously at her smirking double. Her eyes didn't often deceive her, but it had been known to happen. She allowed them to spark dangerously and summoned her copper cane. "Do you mock me, worm?" she demanded.

"You mock yourself quite well enough for that, methinks."

Kat may not have been quite as prone to violence as her alternate universe counterpart, but she did not like being mocked. "Still your tongue, err I cut it out," she said menacingly.

Electra shrugged nonchalantly, an impish gleam in her eyes. Ever since her discovery that Danny Phantom was from an alternate reality, she had wondered which version of herself would win in a fight.

Anyone standing outside the cemetery might have wondered where the fireworks came from.

* * *

The mall was crowded, as usual. The four teens weaved their way through the press of bodies, unaware of the eyes that watched from high above. Unlike his counterpart, this Skulker knew nothing about other dimensions, and so was rather confused to see the black-clad whelp walking alongside his prey. The boy, though clearly weaker than Danny, gave off much the same power signature. It was perplexing, to say the least.

Technus had told him about the device that could separate a ghost from physical matter. That didn't seem to be what had happened; they both appeared to still be half-ghost. He wondered if it was an experiment in duplication gone wrong. Although he'd never heard of such a thing, he'd never heard of half-ghosts until he met Danny, either.

Skulker smiled suddenly as a plan formed in his mind. Fighting Danny's double would be much like fighting Danny himself used to be. Since Skulker had upgraded his equipment, the fight would be no contest. He wanted the original, of course, but he rather thought the imposter would make some spectacular bait.

The three friends snickered quietly at the sight of Shade sipping a chocolate milkshake with his eyes closed and the most blissful expression on his face. "So how long were you stuck in the Ghost Zone?" Tucker asked.

Shade cracked one eye open just long enough to say, "About a month."

All moods sobered significantly. "What happened?" Sam asked quietly.

The boy made them wait until he finished his shake before he glanced at his double. "You told them?" At Danny's nod, he sighed. "A couple months went by, and everything was fine. Then Plasmius came back. I don't know how.

"He convinced everyone that the whole thing was my fault, that I'd arranged for it all to happen or something. He said that I was working with the ghosts to destroy humanity and got a bunch of them to pretend I was their boss or something. Dad and Jazz are the only ones who still believe in me, but I can't go back. Ever."

His explanation was followed by a long, uncomfortable silence. He kept his eyes glued to the table while his companions exchanged awkward glances over his head. Each lost in their own thoughts, it was a long time before anyone spoke. Danny couldn't tell what Sam and Tucker might have been thinking, but he couldn't believe Shade would just give up. He wouldn't have.

Or would he? Thinking back to the first ghost he fought, if Sam's life hadn't been in danger, he might have just given up. Even the Box Ghost had been a challenge at one time, but the battles had given him a great deal more confidence. Shade had not yet reached that point; he was still relatively new to his powers and had fought far fewer ghosts. There had been Pariah's skeleton army, but they could barely be counted. He probably wouldn't even know half of what he could do if Danny hadn't provided an in-depth tutorial on the subject.

How many times had he been so desperate to tell his parents? How many times had he wished the accident never happened? How many times had wished his ghost half would just go away? When he had been in Shade's position, it had been too many to count.

Then he realized his brain had run away with him again and said, "You can't just not go back."

"Why not?" the boy scoffed. "No one wants me there anyway."

Danny spared a moment to wish Jazz was there, or at least that Technus knew more about psychology. "Because…running away won't solve anything." That was such a lame answer, and by the look on Shade's face, he thought so too. Fortunately, Sam came to the rescue.

"If you keep running away, it's only going to get worse," she said reasonably. "Don't you miss everyone?"

Tucker nodded. "Yeah, man. What happens while you're here and Plasmius decides to attack? There'll be no one to stop him!"

"I can't stop him anyway!" Shade exclaimed, slamming his fist on the table and earning a few curious glances. He made a great effort to lower his voice before going on. "Plasmius is too strong with or without the Crown and the Ring."

"You beat him before," Danny tried to point out.

"_You_ beat him! I was just the cheerleader."

"But if you hadn't been there-"

"Just leave me alone!" Shade jumped to his feet, knocking over his chair and almost the table. "I'm never going back!" His eyes flashed green, and he became invisible to the astonished muttering of their fellow shoppers. Danny started to stand, but Sam and Tucker held him back.

"Just let him go," one of them said. He didn't pay enough attention to know which. "Maybe he just needs some time alone."

"He's had time alone; that's the problem." He shook them off and went to find a secluded place to transform.

* * *

Shade didn't actually go very far. He went up to the roof and hid behind an air conditioner, trusting his human form to keep Danny's ghost sense from going off. They were only trying to help, he knew, and he began to regret running off. He especially began to regret turning invisible in front of everybody; that would require some crowd control.

He hadn't meant to make life more difficult for his double, but he seemed to cause no matter where he went. He had just decided to go back to Ghost Zone where he belonged when some kind of glowing net dropped over him. He had just enough time to see Skulker's fist before it slammed into his head.

The armored ghost looked down at his unconscious catch. That went far too easily to have been at all fun, but at least he'd captured his long-time quarry. He picked up the net and flew away, unaware of the narrowed eyes behind him.

The Skulker that belonged in Danny's universe was beginning to wonder at all the imposters that seemed to have shown up. He had seen Electra and Kat's battle and had dismissed it. Neither had been particularly easy to see, and he had been busy trying to locate his prey. Thinking back, they had given off remarkably similar power signatures.

Suddenly, he found himself facing someone who could have stolen his old ecto-skeleton if he hadn't used its parts in the new one. The imposter, like the imposter ghost child, was weaker while still being the same. He knew Vlad had an idea to clone Danny, but himself and Kat as well?

Was it even possible to clone Kat? She wasn't a ghost in the proper sense.

Skulker thought for a moment and set his wrist unit to track the imposter. Although he wanted to simply fly after and destroy the trespasser, he felt he should know what he was getting into first. Since the whelp knew one of them, he would be the person to go to for information. Although he was hesitant to deal with the boy directly, especially after the last several days, he thought Kat might be willing to help. After all, her ego wouldn't allow for more than one of her to exist.

Having settled on a plan of action, Skulker headed off for the cemetery.

* * *

A/N: Gah! I am so sorry! I knew it would be a while, but I didn't think it would be that long. I got half way through this chapter and lost the file, so then I had to rewrite it. It turns out for the best, though, because this way is better. Still, I do apologize.


	4. Chapter Three

Danny must have flown over the whole city in search of his double, or so he decided after checking all the possible locations he could think of. It was getting dark before he dejectedly went home in the vague hope that Shade would already be there. He knew the boy wasn't as strong as he was, having received his powers considerably later. If Valerie found him…

He resolved to go back out as soon as his parents went to bed, but the sudden activation of his ghost sense drove the thought from his mind. He glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then became invisible and sneaked through the kitchen. The otherworldly chill led him down to the empty lab, where a stabbing headache heralded his sudden lack of motor control.

"Hey, it worked!" announced the voice of the last person Danny wanted to see right then. Skulker materialized, grinning broadly. "I could get used to that."

The boy would like to have demanded to know what was going on, but his jaw was clamped shut.

"Now, whelp," the hunter continued, greatly relishing his victory. "There are three imposters roaming this city, and I want you to tell me everything you know about them."

"Three?" Danny exclaimed as soon as he was allowed to speak.

Skulker nodded, a bit irritated than the boy didn't know about the other two but not overly surprised. "Yours, mine, and one that looks like Technus' whelp." At the boy's reaction, he asked, "So you do know them?"

"They're from an alternate universe," the ghost boy answered. "Electra and…and AU Skulker must have followed him here." He repressed a smirk at the realization that Jazz had been wrong; his brief obsession with Doomed fanfiction had been worth something after all, if only to give him a name for Skulker's alternate counterpart.

After a moment, Skulker stepped back, and Danny staggered as he was suddenly able to move again. Grateful though he was, he couldn't help but blurt out, "You're letting me go?"

The armored ghost scoffed. "I don't need Technus' nanobots to capture you. However…" He trailed off, apparently warring with himself about something. "I may have miscalculated their abilities."

"What do you mean?"

Again, he hesitated before answering, and Danny suddenly realized that he was embarrassed about something. "The…alternates of you and I are weaker than ourselves, but Kat's seems to be stronger."

Danny thought for a moment and shook his head. "No, she's not. I've fought her before."

Skulker gave him an appraising stare and said, "Perhaps you should come with me."

* * *

Yellow police tape and flashing cruisers surrounded an area that might have been ground zero for a nuclear bomb. The few trees still standing appeared to have struck by lightning; most of them had been knocked over or burned down. Headstones had been reduced to so much rubble strewn over the blackened ground of the cemetery. 

Invisible, Danny stared in astonishment, even forgetting Skulker hovering next to him. "What happened here?" he whispered.

"Kat met Electra," the hunter answered simply. He pointed down to where the Fenton Ghost Assault Vehicle idled among the police cruisers. Wishing he'd thought to check the cemetery earlier, the boy led the way down. He slipped past his parents, who were busy arguing with the police, and peaked inside. Leaning back in one of the seats and looking very faded was Kat. She glanced up as he reappeared.

"We called it a draw," she said almost before he could open his mouth. "I didn't lose."

Skulker chuckled. "No, you lost."

"I didn't lose to that…that…arrogant, insipid imposter!" She tried to prove her claim by standing, but didn't quite succeed. "Yeah, well…she's in worse condition."

"She flew out of here laughing," the hunter informed him.

"Are you going to be okay?" Danny asked, torn between worry at the gremlin's condition and laughter at her denial.

Kat nodded and sat up slightly. "Your parents don't realize it, but I'm draining this thing's batteries."

"Kat!"

"She was heading east," the girl said, changing the subject. "She was talking to someone on a headset that I'm astounded still functioned with all the static we were throwing around. I'm thinking she may have made it."

"Do you know where she went?" Skulker interrupted before she could start on a hardware-related tirade.

Kat shrugged. "Something about 'back to the door.'"

Of course, the Guardians of Space had let them through. Danny was almost amazed at himself for not realizing that sooner, although, to his credit, he had other things on his mind. They were probably trying to Shade back, but he couldn't just let them go like that. If Shade couldn't get away, he'd be stuffed into a cage, or worse.

Skulker was apparently thinking of something close to that because he brightened considerably. "Well, if they're leaving, then I don't need to bother with them. I'll give you a thirty second head start, whelp."

"Not now!" Danny exclaimed angrily. He gestured at the ghost's wrist unit. "I have to rescue Shade! Can you find them with that thing?"

"I can, but-"

Whatever Skulker had been about to say was suddenly cut off by Jack Fenton's cry of "Ghost!" Apparently, Danny's exclamation had finally gotten their attention. The three spirits quickly took off, although they were still close enough to hear the GAV sputtering as Jack tried to start it.

"Look," Danny began, facing Skulker. "I need you help."

"We're enemies," Skulker reminded him, amusement coloring his tone. "Why should I help you?"

Suddenly, his ecto-skeleton froze and Kat's voice said from the speakers. "How about, I'll drain this thing and blow it up if you don't?"

Listening closely, Danny could just hear Skulker from inside the huge metal shell. "You wouldn't."

"Watch me." Kat seemed to listen for a moment, but the boy couldn't make out any words. Finally, however, she went on. "Because I am Electra Technus, and no one else will say otherwise! Now, are you going to help me get revenge? Or should I activate this 'Eject' command?"

* * *

Shade huddled in the net surrounding him and wondered why the Guardians of Space had let Skulker and Electra through. He thought they were benevolent; apparently, he was wrong. The two ghosts argued quietly about some kind of door that was supposed to have been there, paying little attention to their captive. Every so often, Electra glanced in his direction, but he wasn't worried about her. Although she never seemed to deliberately let him go, she had a tendency to ignore his efforts at escape. 

He held part of the net in one hand and focused an ectoplasmic energy blast on it with the other. It had become very frayed, but the work was slow. If he used enough power to simply break free, Skulker would be alerted, and he wanted to employ stealth if at all possible. Any battle with the big hunter was likely to end inside another net, and he wouldn't be allowed a second chance at escape.

"They said the door would be here," AU Skulker was muttering.

Electra shook her head and met Shade's eyes for a moment. "I told you we shouldn't have trusted them." She grabbed her companion's wrist as he started to turn back toward the boy and leaned in close. "Well, in lighter news, I beat that miming twit today."

"Your alternate self?" he asked, although he already knew. He idly wondered how she managed to go without gloating for so long.

She waved a hand dismissively. "I'll not be lumped into the group with that weak creature. The Box Ghost gave me more trouble."

Skulker snickered, knowing her lie for what it was. She had come limping back, greatly the worse for wear, saying that he'd better be done because she wasn't staying another moment. So enraged had she been, in fact, that he had decided not to call her out for not finding a place to stay. It wasn't as though it mattered, anyway. Fortunately, her anger at meeting herself had faded once she regained some energy.

He was distracted from his distraction by a loud snap, and whirled around to see Shade fleeing at his fastest speed. Cussing loudly, he took off after, leaving the unsurprised Electra behind to address no one in particular with the words, "Oh, look. He got away again."

* * *

Shade glanced back to see that AU Skulker was far too close for comfort. Before he could turn back, a blast of energy knocked his pursuer out of the sky, and he turned the rest of the way to see Danny and this world's Skulker, hovering side by side. "There they are," the ghost announced. "Now, get out of my ecto-skeleton!" 

Danny drifted over, laughing quietly. "Are you okay?"

"Now," Shade confirmed. "You're…friends?"

They glanced over to where Kat was now sitting across Skulker's shoulders, to the ghost's bemusement. "Not exactly."

He might have continued, but the bickering pair was suddenly blasted from below by something that looked like ectoplasm merged with electricity. Kat fell like a stone, shrieking as her weakened state made defying gravity more difficult. Danny grabbed Shade and dove to catch her, content to let the two hunter ghosts duke it out themselves.

* * *

Somewhere in the Ghost Zone, the Guardians of Space argued briefly over their game of chess. They fell silent as the door swung open to admit the currently adult Clockwork. There was some quiet chortling at the expression on his face. "It's gone too far, Master of Time," one of the Guardians said. "You have to let it run its course, now." 

"Yes, I'm aware of that," Clockwork replied heatedly. He shifted to his young form, and then to his old one and back again, causing some mildly alarmed muttering. They'd never seen him angry enough that his temporal shifting went out of control. "Maybe there isn't much I can do for the worlds under your charge," he continued in a dangerous tone, actually making an effort to maintain one form. "But if your games ever spill into this one again, I will personally shatter every one of these mirrors and render you all blind. Is that clear?"

When the door slammed behind him, the Guardians actually flinched.


	5. Chapter Four

Kat leaned against, and partially through, a nearby wall, humiliated that anyone had seen her as anything less than cool and calm. She glared at Shade who, she was mollified to note, seemed rather scared of her. Hovering between them, Danny stared up at the battle in progress and wondered if he should do something. Neither of the ghosts were friends, or even allies, but it felt wrong to simply leave. His indecision had set the nanobots looping again

"What would happen if you hit?" Shade ventured quietly.

"I wouldn't have," Kat returned, dragging herself to her full height.

Danny rolled his eyes. "Knock it off, Kat. I think he's actually losing."

"Which one?"

"Ours."

It had quickly become apparent that Electra was able to overshadow AU Skulker's ecto-skeleton and strengthen his attacks. Danny was half-tempted to ask Kat to do likewise, but their Skulker suddenly plummeted to the road, barely missing the two ghost boys, and hitting with enough force to crack the pavement. As his ecto-skeleton sparked and whined, he phased through the metal and fell weakly to the ground.

"Interesting," AU Skulker muttered, watching as Danny gave in to "good guy" instinct and rushed forward to make sure the little green blob of ghost energy was okay. He glanced over to where his quarry was practically hiding behind the righteously enraged Kat and heard a quiet snicker next to his ear. He glanced back toward the derelict hunk of machinery, surprised by how strong his counterpart had been forced to become because of the half ghost. "Can we add that power to ours?" he asked his electronic passenger.

"Is the sky orange and green?" Electra scoffed.

AU Skulker nodded once; he knew what she meant. "Good. I think I'd rather have the stronger of the two." Chuckling to himself, he flew away with the destroyed ecto-suit in tow. Danny watched them go, equal parts grateful and annoyed.

"Shouldn't we go after them?" Shade asked. His voice implied that he was praying the boy would say no, and he breathed a sigh of relief when Danny shook his head.

"Kat's hurt, we're both exhausted, and Skulker's out cold," he explained, ignoring the gremlin's outraged exclamation. "There's nothing more we can do tonight…I am so grounded…"

Kat waved a hand dismissively as she walked past. "Just tell them you were attacked by ghosts," she grumbled. "I'm sure you look the part." She drew a circle in the air and started to jump through to Technus' lair.

"Could you take him with you?" Danny called, referring to Skulker. She stopped, turned just long enough to flash an impish grin, and vanished inside. The ghost boy sighed and drifted into the air. "I give up. Let's just go home."

"Y…you mean…I'm coming with you…?"

He turned to see his double, grinning and trying not to dance in place, and laughed quietly. "Duh. Come on."

* * *

It was about two in the morning before the Fentons finally trudged inside. They had to push the GAV all the way home, and even Jack the Incorrigible was too tired to care about repairing it. He wandered into their room and collapsed facedown on the bed. Smiling fondly, Maddie walked past their room to Danny's and eased the door open. She knew he'd been there, and she wanted to make sure he'd gotten home all right. 

She blinked and started to say something. He was in bed, yes, but there was an unmoving, glowing green blob lying in his half-open sock drawer, and someone who looked astonishingly like him was passed out on a pile of blankets near the closet. After a moment, she simply added that to the list of questions she would have for him when he decided to tell her the truth and eased the door closed again.

Jack was snoring loudly when she entered their bedroom, still fully clothed and lying on top of the blankets. She chuckled quietly and decided to simply be grateful that he wasn't on her side of the bed. She almost envied him for a moment; he didn't have to worry about their son getting himself killed while trying to play hero. She was proud to know that her little boy was so selfless and responsible, but…

She wondered if the mothers of police officers and firemen felt the same way and decided that they couldn't. They had never tried to hunt their children down and eradicate them from existence. She felt like such a bad mother that she had never figured it out, but half ghosts shouldn't have been possible. Danny shouldn't have been able to exist like that. With a forlorn sigh, she settled down to nightmares about actually succeeding in hunting him down.

* * *

Danny opened bleary eyes to meet a pair of tiny red ones and very nearly went back to sleep. "Do you always sleep through your alarm?" Skulker asked. The boy pried his eyes open again and glanced at the clock. He was going to be late if he didn't get up, but he couldn't seem to care. 

"Get off of me," he mumbled, rolling over.

The little ghost squeaked in alarm as he tumbled to the mattress. "Humans," he muttered peevishly. "I know for a fact that you only need eight hours of sleep, and you've had that that. Now, get up!" He kicked Danny in the forehead and dodged a violent slap.

"Knock it off!" the ghost boy exclaimed, almost fully awake for a few seconds.

"Keep it down!" Shade called from his place by the closet.

"Get up, whelp!" Skulker commanded, not lowering his volume in the slightest. "I helped you rescue him; now, it's your turn."

The argument might have continued, but Jazz took that moment to hammer on the bedroom door. Danny threw the blankets off, taking care to make sure they landed on the ghostly annoyance, and grabbed his clothes off the floor. He grinned apologetically at Shade, who had practically jumped to his feet at the noise. "I have to go to school. Are you going to be okay here?"

Blinking owlishly, the boy nodded, and flopped back down. "I'll keep an eye on him after I wake up."

"You can have the bed if you want it," Danny pointed out, but his double seemed to have already fallen asleep again. He gave Skulker an amused glance as he left the room.

The ghost folded his arms and stared after the boy. They didn't have time for Danny to go to school. They needed to go after AU Skulker and Electra and get his ecto-skeleton back. Since it clearly wasn't in the room, he had no doubts that they had taken it; it's what he would have done in the same situation. He briefly considered rousing Shade, but decided against it. That one couldn't even beat their mutual enemy before he acquired the means to power up. He'd be next to useless.

Every fiber of Skulker's being demanded that he go after the interlopers, but he had no power to do so. He dared not trust the Ghost Master despite their tentative alliance; the alligator just might decide he would make a good snack after the way he'd beaten them last time.

In fact, running through his short list of potential allies, he realized his prey was the only one he could actually trust. Vlad might help, but he'd be more likely to make Skulker sort things out on his own. Technus would just laugh at him. Walker would use the opportunity to lock him up for good.

Grumbling, the little ghost slid off the bed and headed for the door, vaguely hoping there was something in the Fenton's lab that could help. He was about three feet away from freedom when a hand closed around him and dropped him in Danny's sock drawer again. "Would you just stay out of trouble, please?" Shade asked through a yawn.

Skulker didn't bother to respond; he simply turned away and pretended to pout. After a moment, he glanced over to see that the ghost boy was more or less asleep again and became intangible to fall on the floor. After a moment's thought, he dropped down invisibly into the kitchen and sneaked down the steps into the lab.

It was empty, a fortuitous situation. It was also way too big for such a tiny ghost, and he swore quietly. He didn't fly well, hence the suit's jet packs. He wasn't very strong, hence the suit's strength. He was tiny, hence its size.

Danny had once teased him about using his natural abilities, but the simple fact was that he didn't have any. Hence the ecto-skeleton.

He had just noticed a chair he could climb up to reach the tables when a faint whine alerted him too late to the presence of a Fenton Thermos. "I told you to stay out of trouble," Shade laughed, shaking the device slightly. He thought he could hear Skulker inside demanding to be let out.

Suddenly, something thudded to the ground behind him, and he whirled to face a Ghost Bazooka wielded by Jack Fenton. "What are you doing here, ghost?" the man demanded.

"Oh, I was…uh, j…just…um…" Shade looked around quickly and grinned. "Bye!" He dropped through the floor, then flew around to sit on the ops center until everything cooled down again.


	6. Chapter Five

Danny was close to falling asleep in his cereal bowl when his ghost sense alerted him to the little green disturbance. Skulker didn't seem to be very good at being invisible, at least to other ghosts. The humans didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. He was just debating whether or not he wanted to move when his ghost sense went off a second time, followed closely by the Fenton Ghost Finder.

Jack, naturally, had jumped to his feet and grabbed the nearest weapon to hand, then went charging into the lab. Danny noticed his mother's eyes flick in his direction, but his brain was too sleep-fuddled to dwell on it. Even the nanobots had trouble getting started again.

Grumbling, Jack returned to the table and dropped into his chair and proceeded to stare thoughtfully into his breakfast. "Hey…Maddie?" he began slowly. "Did you notice the ghost kid looked different yesterday?"

Danny repressed a grin; he knew where that was headed.

"No, dear," Maddie replied, giving her husband a somewhat puzzled look.

"Yeah, neither did I. But that was him down in the lab, and he was all white for some reason."

Danny ducked his head a little more, desperately trying not to laugh. "I better get to school," he choked out, fleeing the table.

Jazz narrowed her eyes slightly and stared after him. "Um, I'd better drive him. Bye, Mom. Bye, Dad." She gave her parents a quick kiss on the cheek and raced after her brother.

"Huh!" Jack shook his head and sighed. "These kids. Always in a hurry.

Maddie made a noncommittal noise, staring between her children's path of retreat and the stairs to the lab. Maybe she should talk to Danny, she thought. She hated being left out of that part of his life.

* * *

"So…you're Skulker." Shade's eyes may have been on the computer screen, but his attention was focused on the little ghost that sat on top of it. He found it rather difficult to believe that such a weak little thing was the force behind one of his strongest enemies.

"Yes," Skulker sighed, once again. He wanted nothing more than to blast the boy into next Tuesday, and the fact that he couldn't even convince Shade to shut up about it grated on his nerves. He hated it when people found out about his true form; it always led to discussions just like this one. It had quickly gotten to the point where simply being out of his ecto-skeleton automatically put him on edge.

Shade tried to repress a grin as he glanced up. "_You_ are?"

"Yes! _I_ am!" He huffed in exasperation and shook his head. "Are you sure you're the ghost child's alternate?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Skulker opened his mouth to respond, more than happy to argue the point since he couldn't fight it out, but a knock at the door effectively silenced him. The two ghosts became invisible as Maddie's voice called softly out, and the door crept open. "Danny, are you in here?" she asked, looking around.

There was nothing to see, and she narrowed her eyes. It was a little past noon, and her son shouldn't have been home. On the other hand, she was certain she'd heard his voice, in which case, he was in big trouble. Principle Ishyama should have called if he wasn't at school, but maybe the woman didn't know. She was wondering if she'd been mistaken when she noticed the slight tilt of his desk chair, as though someone was sitting in it.

How ominous?

Maddie strode forward and saw the chair right itself ever so slightly. Repressing a grin, she sighed theatrically. "Well, since Danny's not here, I suppose I'll just have to sit down in this chair."

There was a faint creak and a muffled thump as the ghost boy became intangible and hit the floor. True to her threat, she sat down and swiveled the chair to watch mysterious hand- and footprints appear in the carpet. She thought she heard smothered laughter behind her, but she wasn't worried about the other ghost. After a few minutes of staring in the general vicinity of the boy's head, a squeaky little voice said, "She knows you're there, pup."

Shade sighed and materialized in his ghost form, hands in the air and grinning nervously. "I didn't do it."

Maddie chuckled and turned back to see the little ghost attempting to stand impressively on the computer monitor. He didn't succeed very well. "And who are you?"

"I am Skulker, the Ghost Zone's greatest hunter," he proclaimed proudly, earning a raised eyebrow.

"_You_ are?"

Skulker rolled his eyes. "Don't start…" he grumbled quietly. There was a faint whine, and a beam of light dragged him, complaining loudly, into the Fenton Thermos.

"Don't mind him," Shade said apologetically. He had a longing look in his that Maddie couldn't place the reason for, although she had her suspicions. Settling on a safe topic, she gestured at his outfit. Having forgotten her husband's comment from breakfast, she didn't immediately realize that she wasn't dealing with her Danny.

"I think black looked a little better," she began the conversation.

Shade switched to mild puzzlement and shrugged. "I get that a lot."

The woman wondered at his bare hands and feet, toyed with the thought of just letting it go and leaving, then lowered her head and took a steadying breath. "Danny, we need to talk."

The atmosphere became perceptibly cooler in response to his barely-contained discomfort. "Um…"

"I know what happened," Maddie went on, charging ahead before she could lose her nerve. "I know about the accident, and I know about all the ghosts you have to fight."

"I'm not…Danny," Shade interrupted. The room temperature continued to drop.

"Don't lie to me." Maddie spared a brief moment for the feeling of déjà vu. It seemed like only yesterday she said that very thing to him while they huddled in an alley in Baltimore. "I've known for a long time."

"But I'm not-"

"Danny, I don't hate you!" she cut him off almost desperately. "I just want to help!"

"Mom!" Shade bit his lip. He knew the room must have been like ice because he could see Maddie's breath. Forcing himself to calm down, he continued. "Maddie, I'm not _your_ Danny." There was a pause while she processed the emphasis. "They call me Shade."

There was a longer pause. "Where's Danny?" Maddie all but growled.

The temperature plunged again, this time out of fear. "School!" Shade exclaimed. He took a few steps back, the better to cower.

The ghost hunter/enraged mother drew a weapon at random to point at him while she picked up the phone. "You had just better be telling the truth, ghost!"

Shade gulped as he stared down the barrel of an ecto-pistol, not paying much attention to the audible half of the conversation. He saw the barrel start to shake slightly and knew he needed to regain control before his powers started to go haywire, but he was far too scared to focus. What if Danny wasn't there after all? He couldn't defend himself; not against her. He jumped as something clicked, but it was only the phone. The weapon moved out of his field of vision.

"All right," Maddie said through chattering teeth. She wrapped her arms around herself for what little warmth she could salvage. The sudden appearance of snow wouldn't have been at all out of place. "You can calm down; he's fine."

Shade sank to the floor with a relieved sigh and began to explain his presence from the beginning. Maddie listened without interrupting; he might have been reciting a memorized speech, and she didn't want to break his train of thought. She listened with some degree of skepticism at first, but his tale was almost too incredible to be a lie. When he told her about losing his Maddie, her demeanor switched to concerned mother. She couldn't help but wonder how her Danny would have reacted to losing her. By the time the story was over, she was practically in tears. There was a rather pronounced difference between knowing her son risked his life and having a third party explain, in excruciating detail, how he almost died.

"So…here I am," the boy finished lamely, having glossed over the details of Vlad's return.

Maddie dried her eyes and resolved to find this Plasmius character. It had not yet occurred to her that he might also have a second identity, so she focused instead on the issue at hand. "And this other Skulker is after Danny, now?" She waited for Shade's nod. "And Electra helps to make him more powerful?" After a moment's thought, she held out her hand for the Fenton Thermos and, aiming for the desktop, hit the release.

"Finally!" Skulker attempted to roar. Sadly, he only succeeded in a comical squeak. The thermos wasn't nearly as uncomfortable in his present state. Indeed, it was only slightly less roomy than being in his armor's control center. However, the complete sensory depravation was still enough to make it horribly claustrophobic, and he still hated it on general principal.

Suddenly, he found himself staring into an oddly menacing pair of red goggles. The painful reminder of his size forced him to take a few nervous steps back against his will.

Maddie smiled, an expression that wouldn't have looked out of place on Ted the Alligator. "Now, Mr. Skulker," she began in a dangerously friendly tone. "You're going to tell us all about your armor's weaknesses."

"Why would I do that?" he ventured defiantly.

"Do you really want to find out?"

If she wasn't human, he might have been in love. Since she was human, he settled for respect of a formidable opponent. "I have a condition," he said.

Maddie scoffed. "You're not in much of a position to bargain," she reminded him.

Skulker raised his arms in a gesture of temporary submission. "Just don't send me back to the Ghost Zone without it, and I'll tell you whatever you want to know." Although, maybe not everything, he amended silently.

Ghost hunter and hunter ghost started at each other for several long minutes, each trying to gauge the other's reaction, searching for weakness and insecurity. Finally, Maddie leaned back and held out her hand. "I can agree to that."

Sharply aware that she could crush him with little effort, Skulker grasped one of her fingers. For a moment, he worried that she going to break his hand anyway, then the world became a confused blur as she lifted him onto her shoulder.

"Both of you go invisible until we reach the Assault Vehicle," she commanded. "Jack's down in the lab, but I don't want to risk him seeing you." She gave Shade a meaningful look as he faded from sight, and went to make her excuses to her husband.

Maddie hated lying to him, but he was too slow to simply embrace change. A mother had to do what a mother had to do.


	7. Chapter Six

Kat sat cross-legged on a surprisingly clear area of desk; though considering the manner in which it became clear, perhaps it wasn't such a surprise. She stared at her hands and listened to her father off somewhere else, ranting to himself.

It had started out as ego. She had wanted nothing more than to prove she could beat herself. It was the ultimate contest of strength for her, and the loss was worse than any she had ever known. It had finally faded somewhat, leaving her feeling rather empty inside.

No longer was she concerned with appearances, at least, not in this case. Her counterpart was evil, and that was someone she could have been had things been a little different. She hated Electra more than she ever hated anything else, and it was almost a physical blow to realize that her hatred was directed at those qualities she saw in herself.

She needed to beat Electra. She needed to, and it wasn't even a matter of her ego anymore. She needed to prove that she wasn't that, that she was never going to be that, and…

And she didn't know what she would do if she lost a second time. For just a moment, she let the old hatred overwhelm her to better understand her opponent. Her eyes flashed red as she opened them again. "That's not me," she whispered emphatically. Fading into her true form, held together by nothing but thought and electrical impulses, she broke through to the human world to hunt the imposter down.

* * *

As the day wore on, Danny grew increasingly nervous that he had not been attacked. He knew he should simply be grateful that he was allowed to have a relatively normal day, but he couldn't seem to relax with AU Skulker and Electra still on the loose. They didn't seem like the type to spare people who got in their way.

The longer he thought about what might happen if they didn't find him, the more he regretted not hunting them down the night before. He shouldn't have given them the chance to power up, he thought, effectively forgetting that he'd been about to drop from exhaustion. It was almost a relief when his ghost sense went off, and the objects of his musing smashed through the window.

AU Skulker had managed a surprisingly passable mishmash of the two ecto-skeletons. If he had been working alone, he might have taken longer to do a better job. However, it appeared that Electra had thrown the two suits together using her power, and was probably the only thing holding them together. Danny wondered about that; Kat had never been able to. That she had been willing to admit it made him believe her since her ego wouldn't have let her simply hide the fact. At least, not when there was an opportunity to impress.

Judging by the way the ecto-skeleton sparked, Danny surmised that Electra had possessed it. That made perfect sense if he went by the way Technus usually worked. He ducked beneath his desk to transform, unnoticed among the throng of screaming, fleeing students, his mind already racing. All he needed to take out the "mistress" of electricity was a good jolt; without her to increase his power, AU Skulker would be defenseless again the half ghost.

His transformation rings had barely finished their job before the desk was suddenly whisked away. "Not trying to hide, are you?" AU Skulker laughed. He was used to fighting Shade, who was weaker and more inclined to subterfuge. He expected Danny to drop through the floor and try to get away; Shade would have. Consequently, he failed to dodge quickly enough when they boy lunged at him, fists first.

"Do you have to attack me in school?" Danny addressed the empty classroom before flying through the outer wall after his opponent. Certain that the fight was going to go a lot easier than he surmised, he let his guard down slightly.

Moments after clearing the edge of the brick, he found himself slammed to the dirt. "Good!" AU Skulker exclaimed. "I thought you'd be more of a challenge than my whelp."

It was like trying to touch live power lines, so Danny employed the method he usually used against Kat when circumstance drew them into a sparring match: maintaining as little physical contact as possible. He blocked a punch and returned with an ectoplasmic energy blast. "He's not _your_ 'whelp'!"

"Not yet. But he will be. And so will you." He activated Skulker's wrist blades and charged forward.

The boy dodged and swung his leg around to kick the ghost in the back of the head. AU Skulker went intangible just before he crashed to the earth, causing Danny to lose sight of him until he erupted from the ground and caught the boy around the neck. Danny was used to Kat's playful jolts, but this was anything but playful. Electra must have increased her voltage output; it was all he could do to focus on not changing back, let alone think about counterattacking.

He thought he heard a shout, and then he was kneeling on the ground, twitching and shuddering from the shock. A voice that sounded suspiciously like his own demanded to know if he was okay, so he turned his head slightly. "What are…are you doing…here?" he managed.

Shade jabbed a thumb over his shoulder and grinned. "Your mom."

But they would kill her…Danny shook his head and stumbled to his feet. "Stay here!" he commanded.

Shade watched him go, more than happy to allow them to fight for him. There were only a handful of ghosts that he had never beaten, and Skulker was one of them. In fact, it had taken the combined efforts of a whole shielded community just to get him weakened enough to capture. And that was only the first time; he had since grown stronger. Shade had finally gotten to the point where he let himself be dragged back into the Ghost Zone before trying to escape simply to minimize any damage the hunter might do.

Somehow, the knowledge that a tiny bit of ectoplasmic goo was the force behind that killing machine did not help his courage any.

Suddenly, a voice spoke just behind and to his left, and he whirled around. "His friends managed to hack Skulker's system, I believe," said the aging spirit as though he unfamiliar with the terms. He smiled slightly and didn't appear to notice when he became somewhat younger before the half ghost's eyes. "You were wondering how to defeat him, weren't you?"

"Who are you?" the boy demanded.

"You remember me, Shade. I took Danny home after he helped defeat your Plasmius."

Shade did not become any less suspicious. "The Guardians of Space weren't very good," he pointed out.

Clockwork nodded sadly. "That's true. And to be perfectly honest, I'm not exactly 'good' myself. I freely admit that I have my own agendas. However, I can assure you that I'm not evil in any sense."

Shade thought for a moment, then nodded acceptance. "So you're here to take me home?" he asked hopefully. At the now child-like ghost's headshake, he wilted.

"There's something missing from this fight, you know," he mentioned vaguely in a voice that did not fit with his appearance. It was rather unnerving. "Ah, there she is. I was wondering when she would arrive."

Shade looked but didn't immediately see what Clockwork was talking about. Suddenly, a flash of light threw three people in two directions, and the space they had previously occupied was taken up by what looked like a warring pair of electrical storms. AU Skulker's battle suit held together, however, proving that it had been put together just fine despite the hurried job. Danny and Maddie recovered quickly enough to avoid being pulverized by their opponent while Kat drew Electra farther away.

"No," Clockwork said. "There's something else…" He stared at the ghost boy out of the corner of his eye, amusement etched into his features while he waited to be noticed.

"Me?" Shade squeaked after a moment. "I-I can't beat Skulker!"

"Certainly with that attitude you can't," the again-aging ghost agreed. The constant shifting made Shade a bit nauseous.

"He's too strong for me!"

"He was too strong for my Danny once. And that Skulker is too strong for him now, even with Maddie's help. They need you."

Shade had never been more inclined to stomp his feet and throw a childish tantrum. "I'll only get in the way!"

"Look at them!" Clockwork exclaimed, gesturing emphatically. "They are losing, Danny. You are stronger than you think, believe me. Ebony Angel wouldn't have accepted your friendship if she didn't think so, and you know she wouldn't have called you Ivory Demon."

Shade cringed at the memory. He had always been hesitant to tell people that part, what with the rumors that he was behind the massive ghost attack. They had just started to spread when the mercenary rode into town with orders to destroy him. He still failed to understand why she changed her mind; she said he reminded her of herself… People had heard enough of the dialogue that he had to make something up, and thus, Ivory Shadow was born.

Apparently sensing the direction of his thoughts, Clockwork continued. "You defeated the greatest bounty hunter on the East Coast; that's no small feat. Now, go help them and prove that you are worthy of the name she gave you."

The look in Shade's eyes was reminiscent of a deer caught in the headlights. He glanced back at the battle, and his expression hardened. Danny was his hero, and he refused to watch Maddie die a second time. He was Ivory Demon, darn it, and he wouldn't let them down!

* * *

Danny put up a shield as his mother ducked behind him. They had entered a state in which nothing mattered except the fight, and he didn't even bother to wonder at her easy acceptance of his help. After a token, "Get out of here; I'll handle it," she had barely said two words beyond, "Look out!"

Maddie, for her part, felt much the same. Initially, she had worried about her little boy, but even that had faded in the face of necessity. She felt the beginnings of concern as she hid behind him and noticed how exhausted he seemed, but that was forced to the back of her mind as the attack broke through and blasted them both to the ground.

AU Skulker strode forward, self-satisfaction plainly evident even through the machinery. "I haven't had a fight like that in years," he mentioned, obviously pleased. "A shame it's over now, but I can't risk the two of you escaping. You might actually win next time." He raised his arm cannon, but before either of them could react, a blast of green energy hit him from out of nowhere, followed closely by a white blur.

"Shade!" Danny yelled. "Get out of here! You're not strong enough to be beat him!"

"I beat Ebony Angel!" the boy called back, punctuating each word with a blow. "And I can beat some stupid puddle of goop!"

Danny grinned briefly and decided not to point out that Angel was only human, and not nearly a match for Skulker. The kid finally had his confidence back, and he wasn't about to ruin it again. Instead, he checked that Maddie was all right before they both charged back into the fray.

With the three of them involved, Maddie and Shade were able to focus on the weak points Skulker had told them about while Danny harried the armored ghost and drew the majority of his attacks. Finally, the combined ecto-skeletons fell apart and the real AU Skulker tumbled out. He barely had time for an enraged squeak before Shade sucked him into a Fenton Thermos.

"Where's-" Danny began, but he was interrupted by the painful shriek of either Kat or Electra as she crashed to the ground and halfway through it.

"Give me that!" the other demanded, using her power to pull the thermos from Shade's grasp.

"No!" yelled the one Danny hoped was Electra as she was pulled in with AU Skulker. "You can't win! I'm the best! Me!"

The remaining astral gremlin proved she was, in fact, Kat when she let her eyes fade back to brown, although the boy was tempted to wonder when she said quietly, "It wasn't about ego."

There was silence all around the battlefield as the former combatants wondered what came next. "Where's Skulker?" Danny asked quietly. "Ours, I mean."

"In the Assault Vehicle," Maddie answered, just as quietly.

"Can't she get out?" Shade asked Kat, all traces of his former fear replaced by something akin to challenge.

Kat deigned not to notice and allowed some of her arrogance to return. "Not while I'm holding it."

"Or I am," Clockwork piped up, startling everyone. He floated into their midst and held out his hand. "If you please."

Katrina Technus actually blushed and cowered slightly. "Of course, Master of Time," she murmured respectfully, handing the thermos over with very little hesitation. Danny would have paid money to see that again.

Clockwork started to turn, then stopped as though just remembering something. "By the way, death threats are rather useless against ghosts, don't you think?" Kat faded from sight. She had been so certain her ill-tempered comment from the Bone Dragon's attack wouldn't actually make its way back to him.

Maddie, who had been forced into far fewer encounters with the gremlin than her son, still knew her well enough to join in the laughter at her expense. The sudden appearance of the ghost who couldn't seem to decide on an age for any length of time had put her back on edge, but no one else seemed particularly bothered. She decided to take her cues from Danny and let him lead.

Danny glanced at his mother and wondered at her quiet, then changed his mind and decided to be grateful. "So you're here to take Shade home?" he asked even though it was blatantly obvious.

Clockwork was kind enough not to point that out, contenting himself with a nod. "If you have anything to say, now is the time. You won't be seeing each other again." Not if he had any say in the matter, he amended quietly, still angry at the complete disregard for order the self-titled Guardians showed.

Maddie dropped back to return to the GAV. Kat was still nowhere to be found, but the sudden lack of static discharge implied that she was gone as well. Danny and Shade strode up to each other to shake, for once as equals rather than a master and his apprentice. "Will you be okay?" Danny asked.

Shade nodded, then nodded again more forcefully. "Yeah, I'll be fine," he answered, almost surprised at his own conviction. Then he flashed a lopsided grin. "I'm you, after all, right?"

Danny returned the grin and, in a flash of insight, said, "Nah. I think you're you."

Shade backed away slightly and turned to Clockwork. It was on his lips to ask if he could visit sometime, but it was with no surprise that he heard himself say, "I'm ready."

Then they were gone.


	8. Epilogue

It was a grand battle that he wasn't sure he would win. Unlike Danny, Shade had no bargaining chip to keep Vlad Plasmius in relative check. All he had was the people of Amity Park, and their sudden realization that the ghost attacks got worse when he left. The well-wishers were still visiting the room to apologize and leave "Get Well Soon" cards by his bed.

"Ghosts aren't supposed to get hurt this bad," he groaned.

Jazz scoffed and shook her head. "Well, lucky for you, you're still human enough to feel it." Privately, the boy disagreed about the "lucky" part, but a quiet knock at the door kept him from voicing it. His sister conversed for a few moments with whoever was there, then asked, "Are you feeling up to two more visitors?"

"Anything to get rid of the boredom!" he exclaimed gratefully. He was beyond amazed when a familiar black boy in a red beret entered, followed closely by a goth girl in black and purple. "Sam and Tucker?" he asked before he caught himself. They weren't the ones he knew.

Jazz slipped out and closed the door behind her before they walked up. They stared at him uncertainly, so he joked, "I don't look that bad, do I?" He was pleased to earn a small snicker from Tucker.

There a slight pause, then Sam blurted out, "You saved my mom and dad, you know."

Shade blinked, wondering what she expected him to say. He was certain he saved a lot of people, but he had been rather too caught up in saving himself to pay much attention. Fortunately, Tucker came to the rescue. "I think what Sam's trying to say is, she's sorry for calling you a poser and being mean to you." The girl nodded almost miserably. "And…I'm kind of sorry for letting her."

"Hey, you did it, too!" Sam exclaimed, cringing slightly as she remembered their audience.

"Well…" Shade began, a sly smile on his face. "I might forgive you if you distract Jazz and find me some ice cream or something. I'm so sick of hospital food!"

The two kids stared for a moment, nonplussed by the completely unexpected response. Tucker was the first to break; he stared laughing and pulled Sam away with promises of Reeses Pieces.

* * *

Danny stared up at the imposing structure for a moment before going inside. It wasn't the first time he'd been there, but he still felt as though he was intruding on some kind of sacred ground. Or something. "Clockwork?" he called out. His only answer was a sudden and resounding bang. He was half tempted to turn and go; he had only dropped by because he was in the Ghost Zone anyway, taking Skulker home as per his mother's promise. 

He felt a brief moment of satisfaction at that. Maddie may have promised not to send the little ghost home without his armor, but no one had said anything about how many pieces it would be in. Danny was relatively confident that he wouldn't be dealing with Skulker for a long time.

"Ah, hello, Danny!" Clockwork exclaimed from somewhere above. "My apologies. I expected you, but your older self has been unusually troublesome of late."

"He's not going to get loose, is he?" the boy asked worriedly, drifting up to join the ghost.

Clockwork smiled slightly. "I wouldn't worry about it. So tell me. What brings you to see me this time?"

Danny was about to point out that Clockwork already knew, but he decided not to. "I just want to say that if Shade ever needs help, I want to go and help him. I kind of feel like he's my responsibility."

"Well, if that's what you wish, I'll see what I can arrange," the Master of Time allowed. "However, do recall that you had no one to guide you."

"I had Sam and Tucker," Danny pointed out. "Shade doesn't have anyone."

"Don't be so certain." Clockwork guided him to the viewing sphere and let it reveal a stark white hospital room in which the ghost boy's double laughed and joked with a handful of people, some of whom he had never even seen let alone met. "He drove Plasmius away, at last. I was beginning to wonder about him, actually, so I suppose the Guardians did him some good."

Danny stared for a few moments after the sphere went dark, then nodded. "Okay, but still! If he _needs_ me, I want to be there."

"Of course." As Clockwork watched boy go, he wondered idly if that sense of pride he felt was anything like Maddie must have.

* * *

A/N: Next up: A Step Too Far. I don't know how well it's going to turn out, though. Just warning you now.

Thank you to all you nice people who have taken the time to review. I'd like to especially thank Pen, Random, and darkflame for going out their way to review every new chapter. It really means a lot to me that you care so much.

Have you ever noticed how difficult it is to say a truly heartfelt thank you?


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